Garment finisher with sleeve formers



United States Patent US. Cl. 22370 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A garment finisher including an inner frame with sleeve support members extending upwardly on each side thereof and an outer porous bag fitted over the frame with sleeve inflating tubes fitted over the sleeve support members wherein a coat or similar wearing apparel is fitted over the bag and frame with the sleeve support members and sleeve inflating tubes inserted up the sleeves of the coat, and steam or similar garment treating fluid is injected into the bag, to inflate the bag and its sleeve inflating tubes to fit the garment, and to pass the fluid through the torso and sleeves of the garment.

Background of the invention After garments have been cleaned in a wet cleaning machine in the dry cleaning process, it is desirable to remove the wrinkles from the garment and reshape the garment, as necessary. While various processes have been developed over the years for finishing the garments, one of the most popular processes presently utilized is that of blowing garment treating fluid through the garment. The apparatus utilized in this process includes an upstanding frame, a porous bag loosely fitted over the frame, and a source of treating fluid communicating with the interior of the bag. A garment is fitted over the bag and its internal frame, and the bag is inflated by the garment treating fluid. When the bag is inflated, it generally takes the shape of a garment, thereby urging the garment to its natural shape, and the treating fluid passes through the inflated bag and the garment. After the garment has been treated with the treating fluid for a short period of time, hot dry air is passed into the bag and through the garment to dry the garment.

While the above described process has met with considerable success, it is limited in that the sleeves of a garment being finished, such as the long sleeves of a dress, jacket or coat, cannot be adequately treated since the bags in popular use provide no way of expanding the sleeves as they do the torso or body portion of the garment. As is shown in my US. Patent No. 3,326,427, one method utilized to treat the sleeves of garments is to create openings at the ends of the shoulder portions of the bag, so as to allow the garment treating fluid to pass down and out the sleeve of the garment during the finishing process; however, no successful process has been devised for properly and expediently finishing the sleeves of a garment.

Summary of the invention This invention comprises a garment finisher with sleeve formers which includes a frame structure and an inflatable bag fitted over the frame structure. The frame structure includes an upper portion conformingin shape to human shoulders, a breast plate and a back plate, and the various internal support elements necessary to properly position these elements. A pair of sleeve support members extend upwardly from the base of the frame, toward the tips of the shoulder portions. The inflatable bag is draped over the frame, and a pair of sleeve inflating tubes extend upwardly from the lower portion of the Patented Aug. 19, 1969 bag. The sleeve inflating tubes fit over the sleeve support members of the frame and are insertable into the sleeves of a garment draped over the garment finisher. When the finishing bag is inflated, its sleeve inflating tubes are also inflated to fill the sleeves of the garment.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a process and apparatus for finishing both the body and sleeves of garments in a single operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a frame for a garment finisher which includes upwardly extending support members for supporting sleeve inflating tubes of a garment finishing bag.

Another object of this invention is to provide support members for attachment to the frame of a garment finisher, to adapt the frame of the garment finisher to treat both the body portion and sleeve portions of a garment.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment finishing bag suitable for finishing both the body and the sleeve portions of a garment.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the garment finisher with sleeve formers, showing a mans jacket fitted over the garment finisher.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the frame of the garment finisher with sleeve formers.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, in elevation, of a garment finishing bag suitable for use with the frame of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, in elevation, similar to FIG. 3, but showing the bag rotated ninety degrees.

Description of the embodiment Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows the assembled garment finisher 10 with a jacket 11 positioned thereover, and the finishing bag inflated. As is shown in FIG. 2, the garment finisher 10 comprises a circular base 12 and a frame or skeleton 13 extending upwardly therefrom. Frame .13 includes front or breast plate 14 which extends upwardly from the front portion of base 12, and is curved inwardly near its upper end toward the center of frame 13. Back plate 15 is connected to the opposite side of base 12 and also extends in an upward direction. Back plate 15 and a breast plate 14 are each connected at their upper end to yoke 16. Yoke 16 is generally convex in configuration and is shaped somewhat like the shoulders and neck of the human body.

Lower transverse supporting members 18 and 19 are connected at their ends to the lower portions of breast plate 14 and back plate '15, while center transverse support members 20 and 21 are connected at their ends between breast plate 14 and back plate 15, at a position intermediate their ends. Supporting members 18-21 and yoke 16 function to rigidly secure breast plate 14 with respect to hack plate 15, so that the frame 13 of the garment finisher is stable.

Vertical adjustment bar 22 is connected at its lower end to center transverse supporting members 20 and 21, and at its upper end to yoke 16. Slide block 24 is slideably carried by adjustment bar 22, and connecting bars 25 and 26 are connected to slide bar 24, on each side of adjustment bar 22. Shoulder extension elements 28 and 29 are telescopically received in yoke 16, on opposite sides thereof, and are movable outwardly of and inwardly of yoke 16 to form broader or narrower shoulder surfaces, Connecting bars and 26 are connected at their upper ends to shoulder extension elements 28 and 29, respectively, to properly position the shoulder extension elements 28 and 29 with respect to yoke 16. Guide bars 30 and 31 are each pivotally connected at one of their ends to adjustment bar 22 and at their other ends to connecting bars 25 and 26, respectively. Guide bars 30 and 31 function to guide connecting bars 25 and 26 in their movement with slide block 24, and to control positions taken by shoulder extension elements 28 and 29.

Presser plate 32 is pivotally connected to base 12 by means of pivotal supporting apparatus 34. Presser plate 32 is generally rectilinear in configuration and pivotal to engage back plate 15 by manipulation of pivotal supporting apparatus 34.

Sleeve support assemblies 35 and 36 are attached to opposite sides of frame 13. Sleeve support assemblies 35 and 36 are substantially identical and each includes support plate 38 and sleeve support member 39. Support plates 38 are attached to transverse supporting members 18 and 19 and define outwardly extending spaced protrusions and '41 which define support slots with their respective transverse supporting members 18 and 19, to support sleeve support members 39.

Sleeve support members 39 are fabricated from a re silient material, such as wire or plastic, and are formed from a single length of the material. The lower portion of sleeve support members 39 comprise a pair of downwardly extending sup ort legs 42 and 43 which are inserted in to the spaces defined by protrusions 40 and 41 of support plate 38, outwardly extending spacer legs 44 and 45, and upwardly extending sleeve forming stays 46 and 47. Spacer legs 44 and extend substantially at right angles with respect to support legs 42 and 43, while sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 are curved along their length and extend generally at obtuse angles away from spacer legs 44 and 45, so as to extend first outwardly from frame 13, and then curve back toward frame 13 near their upper portions. Spacer legs 44 and 45 are connected to sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 by means of coil connections 48 and 49, and sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 are connected to each other at their upper ends by means of coil connection 50. Coil connections 48, 49 and 50 render the sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 somewhat flexible, yet sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 tend to return to their original position, as is shown in FIG. 2, after having been deformed or deflected.

The material from which sleeve support members 39 are fabricated is such that the shorter portions of the members, such as support legs 42 and 43 and spacer legs 44 and 45 are relatively rigid while sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 are relatively flexible. While the sleeve support members 39 are fabricated from a single length of material of uniform characteristics, the great length of sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 in comparison to the shorter length of support legs 42 and 43 and spacer legs 44 and 45 renders sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 more flexible than the shorter lengths of sleeve support members 39. Also, the arrangement of coil connections 48, 49 and 50 at each end of sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 also contributes to the flexibility of sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 As is shown in FIG. 1, garment finishing bag 52 is fitted over frame 13 before a garment, such as jacket 11, is treated by a garment finisher 10. As is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, garment finishing bag 52 comprises a torso or body portion 54, upwardly extending skirt 55, a pair of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57, and tie-down section 58. Body portion 54 is dimensioned so that it loosely covers substantially all of frame 13, and it is shaped in its upper portion somewhat like the torso of the human body. The upper portion of body portion 54 generally conforms in shape to the shoulder area of a torso and includes a cut-out portion 59 through which the neck-shaped portion of yoke 16 of frame 13 can extend. At the upper edges of body portion 54, immediately beneath the shoulder area, the body portion 54 defines openings 60 and 61, and

, 4 v zippers 62 and 63 are arranged to selectively openor close openings 60 and 61.

Skirt 55 extends upwardly from tie-down section 58, and its upper end is folded inwardly and downwardly to form a hem 65 of sufiicient breadth to accommodate an elastic band 66. When elastic band 66 is not expanded, its circumference is less than that of body portion 54 of bag 52. Sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 are closed at their upper ends by circular pieces 68 and 69, respectively.

Tie-down section 58 is generally annular in configuration and connects together body portion 54, skirt 55 and sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57. Tie-down section 58 includes an inner open mesh re-enforcing net 70 and an outer connecting piece 71. Net 70 and connecting piece 71 are faced together at theirlower edges and turned inward to form bottom hem 72 which is stitched at 73 to form ample space to accommodate draw string 74. At their upper edges, net 70 and connecting piece 71 are turned inwardly toward each other and stitched at 75 to the bottom edges of body portion 54 and skirt 55. At the positions about connecting piece 71 at which sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 are connected, net 70 and connecting piece '71 are separated and the outer portions of the bottom ends of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 are stitched to connecting piece 71, while the remaining inner portions of the bottom edges of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 are stitched to net 70, skirt 55 and body portion 54. Thus, the internal portions of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 communicate with the space between net 70 and connecting piece 71. In the areas of net 70 adjacent sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57, net 70 defines openings 76 and 77 through which sleeve support members 39 of sleeve support assemblies 35 and 36 can be inserted.

When garment finishing bag 52 is inserted over frame 13, sleeve support members 39 of sleeve support assemblies 35 and 36 are inserted through openings 76 and 77, respectively, of tie-down section 58, and projected up into sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57. The body portion 54 is fitted over frame 13 until the neck opening 59 of body portion 54 fits over the upwardly extending portion of yoke 16. Tie-down section 58 is fitted about base 12, and draw string 74 is stretched about base 12 and tied so that hem 72 of tie-down section 58 is flush with the outwardly extending flange of base 12.

Operation When it is desired to finish a previously cleaned garment, such as a jacket, as shown in FIG. 1, an operator fits the jacket 11 over the garment finisher by fitting the shoulders of the jacket over the upper portion or yoke 16 of frame 13, and buttons the garment about the gar ment finisher 10. 1f the garment 11 has long sleeves, sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 and the sleeve support members 39 of sleeve support assemblies 35 and 36 are inserted up through the sleeves of the garment, from the lower openings of the sleeves. If the garment has a back vent or pleat in its tail section, presser plate 32 can be manipulated by its pivotal supporting apparatus 34 to engage the vent and press it and the body portion 54 of finishing bag 52 against back plate 15 of frame 13, thereby holding the vent of the garment closed. Skirt 55 of finishing bag 52 is then adjusted in height so that its elastic band 66 is positioned immediately below garment 11, as shown in FIG. 1, and the operator then actuates a valve (not shown) to inflate the garment finishing bag 52 with a finishing fluid. The finishing fluid enters bag 52 from base 12, and since frame 13 allows the fluid to circulate freely within bag 52, the bag is completely inflated, or inflated to the limits as defined by garment 11. As the fluid passes into bag 52, it is free to flow through the open mesh net 70, through the space defined between net 70 and connecting piece 71 (FIG. 3), and up into sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57. Thus, sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 are inflated simultaneously with the body portion 54 of bag 52.

Elastic band 66 of skirt 55 limits the inflation of body portions 54, and since elastic band 66 is placed immediately below garment 11, the lower portion of body portion 54 is prevented from billowing or over-inflating and stretching the lower portion of garment 11.

Sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 are sufficient length so that they terminate at their upper ends in proximity with openings 60 and 61 in body portion 54. Thus, sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 substantially fill the entire length of the sleeves of the garment 11. Zippers 62 and 63 of openings 60 and 61 can be opened, or partially opened, so that any space between the upper extremity of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 and body portion 54 within the sleeves of garment 11 will be inflated by the finishing fluid passing through openings 60 and 61. When zippers 62 and 63 are adjusted in this manner, sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 will block the flow of fluid from openings 60 and 61 from passing freely down through the sleeves of the garment, thus causing the fluid passing through openings 60 and 61 to inflate the sleeves of the garment above sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57. Thus, regardless of the length of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57, the entire length of the sleeves of the garment 11 will be properly inflated during the process.

Since sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 of sleeve support members 39 are spaced from each other in directions extending fore and aft of the garment, when a garment is properly fitted over the garment finisher, the sleeves of the garment will be biased to the normal finished position before and during the period of time in which the bag 52 is inflated with the finishing fluid. Thus, the sleeves of the garment will tend to take their naturally finished position during the finishing process, and retain this position after completion of the process.

When a garment having relatively narrow shoulders is fitted over the garment finisher, shoulder extension elements 28 and 29 can be telescoped inwardly of yoke 16 to fit the shoulders and sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 of sleeve support assemblies 35 and 36 can pivot about their coil connections 48 and 49 so as to be in alignment with the sleeves of the garment. Of course, when a relatively broad shouldered garment is treated by the garment finisher, shoulder extension elements 28 and 29 can be telescoped outwardly of yoke 16 and sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 can pivot away from frame 13 so as to be in alignment with the sleeves of the garment.

If the cuffs of the garment 11 are unusually small, the natural resiliency of sleeve forming stays 46 and 47 will permit the stays to bend toward each other to accommodate the narrower cuff of the garment. When a garment having extremely large or billowing sleeves is treated by the garment finisher, sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 will inflate to the point of their maximum inflation to fill the sleeves of the garment. Thus, the only limitation as to the thickness of the sleeves treated by the garment finisher is the amount of material used in sleeve inflating tubes 57.

When the finishing fluid is fed into bag 52, it first inflates the bag and the garment positioned over the garment finisher, and subsequently passed through both the bag 52 and the garment placed thereover. Thus, the garment is treated with the finishing fluid, which is chosen so as to have a maximum effect in the finishing process. For instance, the finishing fluid utilized may be steam and air; that is, steam may be passed through the garment for a predetermined time period, and air may subsequently be passed through the garment to dry the garment. The steam has the effect of removing wrinkles from the garment, while the air tends to dry the garment while it remains on the garment finisher and is held in its natural shape.

The material from which bag 52 is fabricated may be nylon, rayon, or various other fabrics; however, it has been found that a fabric having a smooth, somewhat slick texture is most suitable for use as a garment finishing bag since the garments treated on the garment finisher can be rapidly positioned on or removed-from the gar ment finisher if they do not tend to cling to the bag material. The material utilized in bag 52 should also be somewhat porous so that the finishing fluid will pass through the bag, and subsequently through the garment placed over the garment finisher. Since skirt 55 covers substantially all of the body portion 54 of bag 52 below the garment positioned on the garment finisher, the double thickness of bag material in this area prevents the finishing fluid from easily passing into the atmosphere, and therefore directs the finishing fluid toward the upper portion of the body portion 54 of bag 52, where it passes through the garment positioned over the garment finisher. While in most instances it is more practical to fabricate the entire bag 52, except for net 70, of a single material, connecting piece 71 of tie-down section 58 can be fabricated from material which offers more resistance to the finishing fluid, so as to prevent the finishing fluid from passing through this portion of the bag. Also, sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 may have their lower portions fabricated of a less porous material while the upper portions thereof may be fabricated of a more porous material, for the same purpose. Furthermore, adjustable skirts similar to skirt 55 may be attached to each sleeve inflating tube 56 and 57 of bag 52 so as to present a double thickness of material in the lower portion of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 which does not reach the sleeves of the garment. Of course, the elastic band of sleeves of this type would constrict the circumferance of sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 in a manner similar in which band 66 of skirt 55 constricts the body portion so that the ends of the sleeves of the garment would not be overly stretched when the sleeve inflating tubes 56 and 57 were inflated.

In order that bag 52 fit frames 13 which vary in height, several tie strings 74 may be positioned in hems at the bottom of bag 52 which vary in distance from the top of the bag. In this manner, the bag can be properly stretched down over the frame, even if the frame is slightly shorter or taller than the standard frames presently in use.

While the garment finisher has been disclosed as a single invention, it should be understood that frames presently in use with other type garment finishers are generally similar to the frame of the instant invention, except for the sleeve support assemblies, and the garment finishing bags presently in use are generally similar to bag 52, except for sleeve inflating tubes 57 and tie-down section 58. It is anticipated that the finishing bag disclosed herein can be utilized with frames presently in use, with or Without the sleeve support assemblies disclosed herein, and that sleeves support assemblies similar to those disclosed herein can 'be attached to already existing frames. Thus, it is submitted that the invention disclosed should not be limited to any single element, or to any particular combination of elements.

I claim:

1. An inflatable garment finishing bag of the type utilized to remove wrinkles from a garment wherein a garment is draped over the bag and the bag is inflated with a fluid, the combination therewith of a pair of inflatable tubes each closed at one end and openly connected at its other end to the lower portion of said bag.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said garment finishing bag includes a torso section defining openings at opposite sides thereof and said inflatable tubes are constructed and arranged so that they normally extend toward said openings in an upward direction on opposite sides of said bag when said bag is inflated.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said bag includes a torso section, a skirt connected at its bottom to the bottom of said torso section and a tie-down section connected to the bottom of said torso section and skirt, and said tubes are connected to said tie-down section in such a manner that the interior of said tubes communicate with the interior of said torso section through said tie-down section.

4. In a garment finishing apparatus of the type including a frame over which an inflatable bag is draped, the bag including a pair of inflatable sleeves connected at opposite sides to the lower end of the bag, the improvement comprising sleeve forming stays each comprising a unitary length of material including a spacer portion connected to the frame of said garment finishing apparatus and an upwardly extending portion connected at its lower end to said spacer portion for insertion into the inflatable sleeves of the bag of a garment finisher, said spacer portion being joined to said upwardly extending portion by a coil formed in the unitary length of material.

5. Garment finishing apparatus comprising an upright frame, an inflatable bag draped over the upper portion of said frame and connected to the lower portion of the frame, inflatable sleeve forming tubes connected at one end to and communicating with the lower portion of said bag, and sleeve support stays connected at one of their ing tubes extending freely in an upward direction adjacent said inflatable bag.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,353,741 7/ 1944 Matthews et a1. 223 70 2,841,315 7/ 1958 Paris 223-70 10 2,986,312 5/1961 Petzold et al 223-40 3,216,633 11/1965 Paris 22370 3,268,126 8/1966 Killey 22367 3,286,889 11/ 1966 Schlemon 223-70 15 3,333,747 8/1967 Glover 22370 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner GEORGE V. LARKIN Assistant Examiner 20 US. Cl. X.R. 

